3 Cable Drama Pilots Hire CDs

Three new cable drama pilots now have casting directors attached, Backstage has learned.

"Tyrant," from Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff, the producers of Showtime's acclaimed series “Homeland,” will be cast by Junie Lowry-Johnson and Libby Goldstein. The shoot date and location are still being determined for the Middle East-set FX drama, which revolves around an American family that gets drawn into the political web of a volatile nation in the oil-rich region.

A&E's period drama “Turn” will be cast by Laura Schiff (pictured) and Carrie Audino of Schiff/Audino Casting (“Mad Men”). Based on Alexander Rose’s book “Washington’s Spies,” “Turn” is about a group of childhood friends who form the famed Culper Ring to spy on the British during the Revolutionary War. The pilot is set to start shooting in April in Virginia.